Live Magazine Review

Live Magazine
September, 1999
Heaven’s Burning at Domenico’s, Pasadena

Who knew that a cool venue like this lurked deep below the yuppie haven that is Old Towne Pasadena. Right at the heart of the trendy, overpriced clothing stores and pretentious, overrated restaurants is a cellar, full of noise.

Some of the noise on this evening was provided by the female trio Heaven’s Burning, and what sweet, challenging noise it was.

During a 45 minute set, the bassless threesome won over the boisterous crowd with their thoughtful songs. Akin to the likes of early Cure and Siouxsie, but with some psychedelia thrown in, this was a captivating performance which could be enhanced only by a little more communication between band and audience. I sensed a nervousness, which was partly endearing, and which I am sure will dissipate in time. They should quickly become self-confident as the material is well written and constructed, and well played, with a lot of interesting experimentation, particularly from Kristy Jones’ guitar.

The songs are all written by the other guitarist and vocalist Angela Santiago Chung, whose lyrics are full of religious symbolism, and which are definitely thought provoking.

A couple of covers, tossed in for good measure, perhaps sum up perfectly the sound that HB is going for. The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” and a Monkees hit, show that experimentation and pop sensibility can blend together successfully, and with time to develop, Heaven’s Burning could provide a lot of people with a lot of listening pleasure.

– Martin Brown